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Post-Toddler Necessities – My Go-To List and HUGE Giveaway!

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I remember when KitKat, my oldest, was a baby. I couldn’t wait for her to get bigger and be able to interact with me and other kids, walk without being held, and feed herself (among many other wishes and desires).

She grew up way too fast, and soon she was out of the toddler years and on to more grown up things. Luckily, I had 4 more kids to fill the space, and I spent MANY years in the toddler and post-toddler stages. Despite the challenges of running errands with little ones and teaching them all the new skills that they need to learn, I adored the post-toddler years (times 5!).

I especially loved the 2 years before AJ, my youngest, started school. He was the only child at home (a huge thing for a mother of 5!) and I was able to focus all of my attention on post-toddler things. We took outings together a few times a week, we cooked together at home, and we did lots and lots of crafty projects. We had a blast together. Here are a few of our favorite things:

 

Post-Toddler Favorites

  • Play dough – there is something magical about this goopy stuff. My kids loved to squish, cut, and shape play dough. We loved to make our own play dough (it’s softer than the stuff you buy at the store).
  • Rice – not to eat. Rice is a GREAT toy! I would buy a huge bag of rice and pour it DRY into a covered bin. I added some measuring cups, funnels, and cars and let the kids play. It’s easier to clean up than sand, and I didn’t worry so much about rice getting in eyes or hair or the carpet.
  • Cups with straws – As kids transition from bottles and sippy cups, straws are the perfect helper.
  • Picture books – I LOVE to read, and I also love to collect books for me and the kids. I gathered as many as possible at thrift stores and used book stores. We grew a little library of our own!
  • Shoes with velcro – As a mom with 5 kids, I needed my little ones to be able to do as much as possible to get ready on their own. Velcro is a mom’s friend!
  • Crayons, paper, and scissors – My kids spent HOURS (and still do!) coloring, cutting, and making things with paper. I didn’t need to buy any special products. Simple white copy paper and a pack of crayons (along with some kid-safe scissors) kept them busy for a long time!
  • Movies and videos – Although I wouldn’t want to put my kids in front of the TV or DVD player all day long, I loved when they got to the stage where they would sit still for an entire DVD. There is so much great programming out there for toddlers and preschoolers that actually teach kids important things!
  • Kid-sized versions of Mom’s things – My kids (especially when they were younger and more impressionable…) loved to follow me around doing the things I do. If I was sweeping, they liked to get a kid-sized broom to sweep along side me. If I was cooking, they wanted to have their own mixing bowl and spoon to cook with me, too. I embraced it and let them get used to the tools that I used to cook and clean and do everything around the house. It was a great togetherness activity and it taught them how to do jobs around the house.

Guess what? GoodNites® and Better in Bulk are giving away an ENORMOUS Post-Toddler Go-To Product Gift Basket. The basket includes some of my favorite toddler necessities PLUS a really handy gift card for YOU. Here’s a peek at what’s inside:

  • GoodNites® Product Vouchers
  • Skip Hop Bags – Perfect for pre-school and summer sleepovers
  • Foogo Water Bottle – Great for summer travel; adjusts to the child’s developmental stage
  • Bob Book – Great bedtime activity for parents and kids in the beginning stages of reading; calming bedtime experience for parent and child
  • Toothbrush and Hand Washing Timer – Fun tool for kids just learning about personal hygiene
  • Night Time Chore Cards – Helpful reminders for daily bedtime activities
  • KC Wipes – Mom-approved summer helper for Mom after outside play and traveling
  • Bubbles – Tried and true fun summer activity for kids in this age range
  • Crayons, Stickers – Helps them express and encourage creativity
  • Movie Passes – Children at this age are finally able to sit through a movie and comprehend the content; great rainy summer day activity
  • $100 Gift Card (AMEX)

To enter to win this Gift Basket, visit the GoodNites® website and comment here with something that you learned or leave your best night-time bedwetting tip to help other parents.

For extra entries, you are welcome to share this post by tweeting, Facebook liking, or stumbling (it’s easy using the share buttons included in this post!)

GoodNitesThis contest will end on August 3 at midnight EST, and a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Good luck!

Twitter Party

GoodNites® is sponsoring a Twitter Party with Mom It Forward on August 2.

  • What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
  • When: August 2 from 9-11 p.m. EST (8 CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
  • Where: Party with us on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #GoodNites)

Please note: I am participating in the GoodNites® Blogger Ambassador program and I am compensated for my time. The thoughts and experiences expressed here are my own.

© 2011, Food Fun Family. All rights reserved.

About Lolli

Lolli has written 3741 post in this blog.

I became a mom in 1996, and in 2005 I had my fifth. Yes, 5 kids. In 2007, this blog was born (my 6th baby that will never grow up) and I've been sharing recipes, photography tricks, parenting tips, and everything in between. (Formerly Better in Bulk)

Comments

  4. Thanks for the giveaway…we try to limit liquids by mouth an hour before bedtime, and have found that a relaxed atmosphere (i.e. soft classical music) to accompany a bedtime story can help.

    senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com

  23. I have learned thru twin toddlers to make them potty before bed and be patient my son learned so fast while my daughter took longer!

  29. My best tip besides limiting drinking at night and going the bathroom before your child goes to bed it to be patiet. My daughter just stopped having accidents and she is 12. The Dr. said to be patient and she will outgrow it.

  30. the best tip i have to help parents is to limit liquid a few hours before bed and to use the bathroom right before getting into bed.

  34. According to Sue Dengate, author of Fed Up: Understanding How Food Affects Your Child and What You Can Do About It (Random House Australia, 2003), intolerances to food can increase your child’s chances of wetting the bed. “I always like to distinguish between true food allergies – a quick reaction to food proteins involving itching or swelling – and food intolerances, which are a delayed reaction to chemicals in a wide range of foods,” she says. “It is the food intolerance which impacts bedwetting. Food intolerance is much more common than food allergy, but much harder to detect.”

  36. My best tip is to set an alarm to get you up in the middle of the night to walk your little one to the rest room. It’s inconvenient every once in awhile (when you’re oh so tired) but it works, and it works pretty fast.

  40. To help with nighttime wetting, stop all drinks at least 1 hr before bed and make sure they always potty right before laying down.
    brittneydejajason at gmail dot com

  45. We layer a waterproof sheet, a regular sheet, a waterproof sheet, a regular sheet. That way, in the middle of the night, if there’s an accident, all you have to do is pull off a layer.

  47. The best tip that I use with my own kids, is to limit liquids a few hours before dinner. Also make a trip to the bathroom right before bed.

  50. I learned it is beneficial to have a good nightlight for your child’s path to the bathroom so it’s not scary for them to get up and go. Thanks!

  53. My tip would be to limit the drinks at night and make sure your child goes potty before going to bed, I would always wake up in the middle of the night and wake my child up to and have them go potty.

    ericka082 AT gmail DOT com

  61. We take my son to the bathroom before our bedtime ~ most nights that keeps him dry. I also try to stop all drinks after about 6:30 pm….

  71. I was a bed wetter as a child and my oldest son is a bed wetter. My best tip is to stick to a regular bed time. We have found that staying up late and being overly tired causes and increase in accidents.

    lisalmg25 at gmail dot com

  72. My best bed wetting tip is to help your child understand that he isn’t bad/ or a baby because he may wet the bed. Help him understand at the level he is.

    dlsloveblogs(at)gmail(dot)com

  74. My kids dont really have accidents at night, but I am currently trying to train my 3 year old. Nights are her heaviest times. She takes milk to bed & thats part of the killer. We are trying to cut her back & encourage potty before bed.

  76. Well our son is only three, but in order to control bedwetting we don’t give me anything to drink for two hours before bed and we make sure he goes potty before we lay him down. He is potty trained but still wears diapers to bed but we figure the earlier we get good habits in the better.

  79. Make sure they potty right before bedtime, don’t give them a drink for at least an hour before bed, use a mattress cover and always reward them for a dry night.

  86. My tip is that sometimes bed wetting is just because a child is a very sound sleeper. I had one of those and I started setting my alarm for 4AM and getting him up to go to the bathroom. After about a month of this he was able to wake himself up. No more bed wetting.
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    eswright18 at gmail dot com

  87. The tip is to be patient, teach them about using restroom right before bed and they will outgrow from it. Thanks for the giveaway.

  88. my best night time bed wetting tip is to stop fluids 1-2 hours before bedtime, keep a change of bedding in the room so accident clean up is easier to do, and above all dont get mad but try to be understanding.

    madamerkf at aol dot com

  91. I always had my kids go to the bathroom every night before bed and then leave nightlights on so they are not afraid to go during the night as well. Also have lots of patience (and a supply of clean bedding) for some of the kids. It just takes time. reejen at comcast dot net

  93. I learned that If a parent or an aunt or uncle wet the bed as a kid, then chances are your child’s bedwetting is hereditary. I did not know that. Very interesting. My daughters never did wet to bed but my son has a couple of times. I set my alarm for in the middle of the night and got him up to pee in the potty. I am not sure if that helps or not but it seemed to in my case.

  101. Don’t be afraid to use plastic mattress covers they will make a huge difference. Always keep 2-3 sheets and blankets sets clean and ready.

    tdlsfm(at)gmail(dot)com

  104. I learned that you should evaluate your child’s behavior to see if interruptions such as bedwetting might be preventing him from getting enough sleep

  105. I learned that bedwetting can run in the family and read about some teenagers facing problems with bedwetting and it even running into some people’s 20s. So glad there’s a product like this to help everyone not just little bitty kids!

    cindyloumagee at yahoo dot com

  106. I learned that goodnights underwear help build confidence by keeping teir pj’s dry and the bedding dry. My best tip is have them go to the restroom before bed.
    stanleybilly(at)bellsouth(dot)net

  107. Our best tip is to make sure they go to the potty right before bedtime and just to have patience with it. It’ll come in time. It’s definitely not a process to be rushed.

  111. I always kept a small potty in the room with my daughter. That way if she needed to go during the night she could. I also made sure that she went potty before she went to bed for the night.

  113. my best bedwetting tip for night time is to keep a potty close by, it helped my son to be able to have a potty near him in case he wok eup with an emergency.

  115. I thought it was interesting that some foods seem to increase the likelihood of bedwetting.

    Around here – we’ve found that night time usually isn’t a problem, but naptime? Yeah – always a problem!

  116. After the child wakes with a wet bed, have them help with the clean up and remaking the bed. Do it in a positive and matter-of-fact way, NOT shaming the child. This way the child understands there is no fault but that there are tasks to be done until dry nights are achieved.

    chrisdeglen(at)gmail(dot)com

  120. Your attitude, words and actions can foster a positive, loving atmosphere or a negative, demeaning one.

  130. i like on the website it says that the only cure is patience and time. I have a 7 yr old bed wetter and my husband is always insisting I “fix” him. That I figure out how to get him to quit. There is really nothing I can do. we have tried stopping drinks in the evening, waking him several times a night to go to the bathroom etc. nothing has helped.

  143. We got some glow in the dark footprints that go from the bed to the toilet and each night we walk along them to make sure he remembers to use them!

  147. best tip- have a deadline for drinking about 2 hours before bed then make sure they pee before bed and take them to pee before you go to bed.
    rmartinclarke @ gmail.com

  148. my best tip is to wake your child mid night before you go to bed, to make sure they empty their bladder
    nannypanpan at gmail.com

  151. Have your child not drink anything about 1 hour before bedtime and go to the potty right before getting into bed. We have a plastic cover to protect the mattress, but I also use a quilted waterproof pad between the mattress pad and the bed sheet. That way if my daughter has an accident, I just have to replace the waterproof pad and the bed sheet, rather than having to change the whole bed.

  154. Oh man, my best bedwetting tip is make the bed twice. That way, on those nights when your kid really floods the bed, you can just rip off that sheet and the protective cover, and you have another sheet ready to go. Which is important.

    AND you have to always remember that your child is NOT doing it on purpose. They are asleep, and they can’t control it, and getting mad makes everyone feel awful and prolongs the problem.

  155. I learned that bedtime rituals help children settle in for a dry night, and each child will have his/her own special ritual.

  161. Routine helps. Preparing for bed, brushing teeth, bedtime story, one last potty trip before sleep… a good routine helps a child develop control by knowing what to expect and when.

  163. Really the best tip is to remember that every child is different and able to control their bladders at different times, otherwise you can become very frustrated. You can do things like stop any kind of liquid after a certain time and make sure they use the potty before bed to help.

  168. My best tip is to wake up the kiddo when YOU goto bed.. help them use the potty that one last time…

    My hope was always that it would help them start to get used to ‘waking’ around 11PM to use the potty and go right back to sleep.

    It worked really well with my daughters. Not so much for my boy. :)

  173. I think one of the best tips would be to limit water consumption to 2 hours before bedtime. Also, you may want to wake up your child in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

    Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com

  180. I learned that having ones child pick out their bed sheets with their favorite characters is a big help as a nightime ritual that can control bed wetting.

  181. My best tip is to remember to stay calm and not blame the child. Remember, this too, shall pass. If your child still wets the bed as a teenager, see the doctor.

  188. I learned that bedwetting is usually a stage of development that kids simply outgrow with patience and time

    Thank you for the chance to win!

    ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com

  190. I learned that if your child is wetting the bed, it may be because of certain foods-caffeine, carbonation, citrus, chocolate and extra doses of vitamin C. These foods tend to increase the amount of urine the body produces.
    smchester at gmail dot com

  191. The best tip I can give parents about bed witting is to have your kids stop drinking liquids around 7:00pm. That is how we avoid “night time accidents” at our house.

  196. I learned that Studies show that if one parent was a bedwetter, then 40 percent of their children will also wet the bed,”
    Interesting- it’s genetic!

    hmcnaron at gmail

  199. I suggest getting a waterproof mattress pad, and exercising patience and compassion. When my foster son first arrived at my home, he sometimes had accidents. We didn’t make a fuss about it. We used Goodnites boxers, which he liked because they are discreet and look like regular underpants.

  201. I learned that making it routine that a child use the bathroom immediately before going to bed is another intervention parents can do at home for Bedwetting Help

  202. I wake my 3.5 yr old every night at 11pm before I hit the hay to go potty. This has cut down on the loads of sheets we do every day significantly. And best of all, she has no recollection of us waking her.

  203. My son started wetting the bed after we moved to a different house/town/school. I think it was the stress of it all. Although it was more of a phase that didn’t last long, my survival of the middle of the night quick-change was made easier by having the waterproof pad on the bed under his sheets, having a clean bottom sheet, pillowcase and blanket stashed in his room, and underwear and jammies out just in case. Then I could tuck him back into bed so we BOTH could get back to sleep.

  212. GoodNites® can help reduce kids’ anxiety around bedtime and protect their self-esteem by giving children a sense of control over a situation that is not their fault, helping relieve guilt and frustration until they outgrow it. Also, limit drinks before sleep. Instead of a glass of water before bed, have your child quench their thirst with a cup of ice chips instead of a glass of water before bed

  216. I learned from GoodNites that it helps to calm kids’ nerves at bedtime to make it feel predictable and safe by doing things like having certain rituals, such as reading books or singing songs before bed, for the kids to look forward to, and buying decorations or bedding with the characters from TV shows or movies they like or look up. Useful advice!

  220. My best night time potty training advice is to try and minimize fluid intake prior to bedtime. My boys did really well once I started having them drink less before bedtime.

  221. My three year old is potty trained but still wears a diaper at night because otherwise he would wet the bed. Many times it just takes time for kids to learn how to wake up in the night to go potty!

  223. I learned that the feelings that stem from episodes of bedwetting can carry over into other parts of a child’s life.

  224. I learned : Bedwetting is usually a stage of development that kids simply outgrow with patience and time.

    (littleangel_mw at yahoo dot com)

  228. I learned from experts to concentrate on celebrating the successes, treat the accident as if it’s no big deal and assure kids that he/she can try again tonight.

  230. I loved the tips for helping kids socially, such as packing a plastic bag in their sleeping bag and rolling the ‘nighttime underwear’ up in there so they don’t have to let anyone see it. 3 of my 4 kids have been bedwetters and though we have used plastic sheets as well, it’s the Goodnites that really save me from getting up and changing sheets 2-3 times a night. And the patience and time quote is terrific. We tried a lot of things in desperation, but the truth is, they just need to outgrow it. It does finally end!

  233. Rice…why didn’t I think of that when my son was little ;) I have to say my pediatrician gave me the best advice pertaining to my son and bed wetting.He was potty trained by 4 but still had the occasional accident and it was frustrating me. She said that boys could sleep thru a freight train and are not really able to hold their bladder completely til 6 so to not feel so much pressure that he would master it in his own time.

  236. I learned with my oldest that kids will eventually stay dry through the night. It’s more important to me get them trained during the day and not stress at night.

  238. I learned that Goodnites are specially designed for lying down. I think we’ll try these once we finish her night Pull-Ups!

    GREAT giveaway!

  239. I had no idea how common bedwetting was for five and year olds. This makes me feel much better about my bedwetting first grader.

  241. I agree with other commenters, patience is what is needed. Some kids just take longer to be dry at night. It all gets solved as they get older/

  242. You should never make a child feel bad about wetting the bed. I do personally like the Oops! Sheet just to make sure the mattress is completely protected just in case…

    Thanks for the chance at winning such a great giveaway!

  245. Sorry, Goodnights, but I found that my little guy wets the bed less when he isn’t wearing anything. For those times when he does have an accident, I bought a hospital-style bed pad (remember the ones they had right after you gave birth?) to keep under him. If there’s an accident, it is large enough to protect the sheets and I can easily pull it off of the bed at 3am and out him back to sleep without waking him up too much.
    ohmiss14 at yahoo dot com

  258. My best tip is to not have your kids drink or eat past 7 pm. If they do drink past that time, most likely they end up having an accident.

  262. I didn’t realize bed wetting was genetic either. My son liked to sleep on a fold out kids couch thing that turned into a bed and it was much easier to clean in case of accidents – car wash spray through the cushions + removable washable cover.

    All our mattresses had waterproof covers on them also – even our adult bed since it was often frequented by little ones. :-)

  266. I always insist my kids go to the restroom right before going to bed. It’s just part of the routine. Even if they swear they don’t need to go they know they have to go sit on the potty and try.

  267. I am a faithful customer of Goodnights. They have saved my life!! I liked the quote on the Goodnights website : “The only cure for enuresis, also known as bedwetting, is patience and time.” I have learned this first hand.

  271. Ok, love the new shape of underwear/pullups! They look more big-kid! My son has been out of pullups for a while now… they didn’t have these when he was potty training!

    I think our best tip would be, take him camping and take him to pee outside. My kid thought this was fabulous!!

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